Number of people living on the streets of San Antonio up...

1of17Volunteer Gates Whiteley, right, distributes sack lunches to the homeless at Christian Assistance Ministries in downtown San Antonio on May 3, 2018. The annual count of homeless people in Bexar County in January showed a steep rise in those living on the street. CAM serves 75 sack lunches to the needy each day.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

2of17A man walks across McCullough Avenue toward Christian Assistance Ministries in downtown San Antonio on May 3, 2018. In addition to providing food and clothing, CAM gives people who are homeless a place for spiritual help.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

3of17Some men get in line to receive tickets for a free sack lunch at Christian Assistance Ministries in downtown San Antonio on May 3, 2018.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

4of17Director of Social Services Diane Trujillo, fourth from left, leads volunteers in prayer before opening the doors to serve people who are homeless at Christian Assistance Ministries in downtown San Antonio on May 3, 2018.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

5of17Air Force veteran Roger Smith checks a list on the wall of products to put into a bag of groceries at Christian Assistance Ministries on May 3, 2018. CAM assists people who are homeless by providing food, clothing and a place for spiritual help.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

7of17A man who did not to want to give his name walks under the U.S. 281 overpass at Nolan Street after receiving food and clothes from the Christian Assistance Ministries on May 3, 2018. The annual count of homeless people in Bexar County revealed a steep rise in the number of them living on the street.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

8of17A group of men get in line to receive tickets for a free sack lunch at Christian Assistance Ministries in downtown San Antonio on May 3, 2018. The annual count of homeless people in Bexar County. conducted in January, revealed a steep rise in the number of folks living on the street.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

9of17A man who did to want to give his name walks away on Nolan Street after receiving food and clothes from the Christian Assistance Ministries on May 3, 2018.Photo: Kin Man Hui /San Antonio Express-News

10of17Kalelyn Underbrink instructs volunteers before they head out to assist in the annual count of people who are homeless in San Antonio on Jan. 25, 2018.Photo: Tom Reel /San Antonio Express-News

11of17Volunteers carry buckets of small food items and clothing to hand out as they hit the streets of San Antonio for the annual count of people who are homeless on Jan. 25, 2018.Photo: Tom Reel /San Antonio Express-News

12of17Team 17 explores an alley off Fredericksburg Road as volunteers hit the streets of San Antonio for the annual count of people who are homeless on Jan. 25, 2018. From left are Patrick Steck, Kristen Krenz, Patricia Palomo and Tylisha Mapp.Photo: Tom Reel /San Antonio Express-News

13of17Phillip Kenowitz, left rear, and Marv Mitchel talk about being homeless while trying to stay warm in a drainage tunnel at Interstate 10 West and DeZavala Road in January 2018.Photo: Edward A. Ornelas /San Antonio Express-News

14of17An area used by the people who are homeless is behind a strip mall in the 14000 block of Nacogdoches Road.Photo: Edward A. Ornelas /San Antonio Express-News

15of17An area used by people who are homeless is a drainage tunnel at Interstate 10 West and DeZavala Road.Photo: Edward A. Ornelas /San Antonio Express-News

The number of homeless people living on the streets of San Antonio has dramatically increased since last year, according to an annual tally done on a single night in January.

The Point-in-Time Count, which determines how much federal money the city and Bexar County receive to battle homelessness, found that the number of street homeless zoomed from 441 in 2017 to 705 on Jan. 25, 2018, when teams spread out to survey those living in outdoor encampments, cars, bus stations, abandoned buildings and other “unsheltered” places.

The count doesn’t include those receiving services on that single night at the Haven for Hope courtyard, an outdoor area attached to the city’s homeless center that offers food, showers and safe sleeping but is considered unsheltered by the federal government.

The number of people at the courtyard declined from last year — 661 to 648 — although it remained at capacity, officials said. But overall, the number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people increased from last year, growing from 2,743 to 3,066.

A homeless person is considered “sheltered” if they live an emergency shelter, transitional living center or other type of housing paid for by a public or private agency.

Bill Hubbard, executive director of the South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless, which oversees the count, said officials don’t know why the number of street homeless increased so much or why the overall number saw an uptick.

“We don’t go that deep asking specific questions (on the count’s survey form) about why the person is homeless or how they got there,” he said. “We don’t have enough data. But in the months ahead, we’re going to be working with our stakeholders to address the increase and see how we can fill the gaps” in services.

The count is a single night’s “snapshot” of homelessness, Hubbard said at a Thursday news conference announcing the numbers, and isn’t necessarily predictive of major trends.

Still, this year’s tally revealed some troubling developments, he said. Specifically, the number of unsheltered youths ages 18 to 24 grew 59 percent, from 64 to 102.

Research shows that homeless youths tend to be runaways, youths fleeing foster care or kids asked to leave home by their parents “for whatever reason,” Hubbard said. Studies show that many homeless youths are lesbian, gay or transgender and have been kicked out because of their sexual or gender orientation.

“The community has an obligation to provide housing and services to our homeless youth, who are prone to substance abuse and criminality,” Hubbard said. “They cost our community a lot.”

One bright spot in the statistics was a 27 percent decline in the number of chronic homeless, from 652 to 479, he said. A person is considered chronically homeless if they’ve been homeless repeatedly or for at least one year and if they struggle with mental illness, substance abuse or a disability.

The coordinated efforts of community partners helped bring the chronic number down, Hubbard said, just as it helped reduce the number of homeless veterans in San Antonio, whose number hovered around 230 in 2018, just as it did in 2017. Before than, more than 300 vets struggled with long-term homelessness, a 2016 count showed.

The survey also showed that only 14 percent of those living on the streets said they were from other cities. Of those, only 7 people said their homelessness resulted from a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Harvey.

“Our homeless are our families, our neighbors,” Hubbard said.

The count results will be used in continuing efforts by the city, county and various community agencies and faith-based groups to better address homelessness and increase outreach efforts. Plans include applying for federal funding that would target homeless youths, as well as joining in city efforts to bring more affordable housing to San Antonio.

“Right now, there is one outreach worker for every 150 homeless people, and you just can’t (be effective) with those kinds of ratios,” Hubbard said.

CORRECTION: This report was corrected to show that only seven people attributed their homelessness to a natural disaster.

Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje has been a reporter for more than 30 years. She began her career as a calendar listings/file clerk at the now-closed San Antonio Light, where she went on to write for the Sunday magazine She then spent eight years writing features for the Houston Chronicle.

She returned to her hometown in 2001 and has worked at the Express-News since then in various capacities – columnist, feature writer, social services reporter. She currently covers general assignments for the Metro section.

She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in English from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has won a number of local, state and national journalism awards during her career.